Hugo Chavez' body to be permanently on display

Venezuela's Vice President Nicolas Maduro has just announced on national TV that Hugo Chavez's funeral will take place tomorrow morning.

Around 30 heads of state are expected to attend along with delegations from 50 countries.

Maduro also said that Chavez's body will return to lying in state for public viewing for seven further days after the funeral to allow more people to see him.

Chavez's body will then be preserved like that of Lenin and Mao Zedong so "he will always be with the people". A special tomb is now under construction in the mountains where he launched his revolution.

Maduro again called for calm and thanked the public for respecting the solemnity of the occasion.